Journal Winter/Spring 2021

Editor’s Note: Mid-summer 2020, Provender’s Board of Directors was seriously considering whether it was time to fold the organization, given the challenging financial crisis in which it found itself. Upon hearing about this internal debate, Gavin McComas, owner of Sundance Natural Foods in Eugene, Oregon, attended a crucial board meeting in which the members were going to vote on the organization’s fate. After his passionate and inspiring address to those in attendance, the board ultimately decided to [Read More]

by Meg Kennedy, Provender Board Secretary – Central Co-op Worker UFCW Member Hello, all my fellow Provendarians! Happy Winter to you all, and I hope you are finding some (maybe even a lot) of light in all of the darkness of last year. I am here to let you know what the Equity Committee of the Provender Alliance has been working on lately. We have decided to read our Equity Statement at the beginning of every board meeting, each [Read More]

by the Provender Stewardship Fund Committee   The Provender Stewardship Fund is being established for a pooling of resources from the community of independent businesses committed to the integrity-based values of the natural foods movement. This community of Stewards shall be comprised of companies and individuals dedicated to sustaining Provender Alliance, a membership organization whose mission is to uphold the vision and values of an independent, vibrant, just, and regenerative food system for all. Provender provides nourishment, education, and [Read More]

by Tony White – General Manager, Skagit Valley Food Co-op, WA (Note: Tony originally wrote this letter “mid-pandemic” to inform his community about the capital improvements the store was undertaking during his first year there as General Manager. Provender shares it as an example of how a GM successfully used 2020’s downturn and downtime to upgrade store offerings and be better prepared for stewarding the Co-op’s future. Dear Skagit Valley Food Co-op Members & Shoppers, I wanted to [Read More]

by Carolee Colter – Human Resources Specialist, Columinate Some of my clients are businesses owned and run by families. Some have been in the family for three generations, with married partners, parents and children, siblings and in-laws working together. Employees who come to work for these businesses understand and accept the fact that they’re working for a family. In fact, for many of those staff members, that’s a plus. Employees who don’t agree with the way the family runs [Read More]

by Betty Shelley, Master Recycler “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” –Helen Keller When we first moved into our home 40 years ago, the front door lock didn’t work quite right. One day I decided to fix it. Ha! I learned that it just wasn’t that simple. In order to fix it, I needed to understand how it worked. If you want to fix something, it is wise to take the [Read More]

By Mark Mulcahy – Regenerative Retail Specialist, Columinate; Owner, Organic Options “Mastering the art of resilience does much more than restore you to who you once thought you were. Rather, you emerge from the experience transformed into a truer expression of who you were really meant to be.”       ~ Carol Orsborn Sometimes life throws things at us and we find out just how resilient we are. If there has been any year that has shown us [Read More]

by Amy Pereira – Educational Director, Pranarom USA As Winter settles in, many of us will hunker indoors throughout the colder months and increase our use of essential oils, and products that contain them, to clean homes and workspaces, to impart welcome aromas (think cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and winter greenery), and to support respiratory and immune system health. But is it ‘sky’s the limit’ with regard to diffusing and overall exposure? This article explores these aspects of scientific aromatherapy and [Read More]

By Heidi Shayla, Mountain Rose Herbs   Haldi—or turmeric, as we commonly know it—has been enjoyed for thousands of years. Ayurvedic practitioners acknowledge this impressive orange powder for its support of joint mobility, digestion, and circulation, to name a few.* Haldi doodh (which translates to turmeric milk), or “golden milk,” has become one of the most popular ways that people enjoy turmeric and its wide range of benefits. Traditional Golden Milk Benefits Traditionally, haldi doodh is simply milk simmered with [Read More]